chain stitching

[sybaritical]

Given the seeming global lack of chain stitch machines, has anyone had their jeans capped? Where the chainstitched hem is cut off, the jeans shortened and then the original hem reattached? If so can I get some pics, cos I'm tired of walking around town blazing huge cuffs, but I don't want to wreck my jeans.

[horriblyjollyjinx]

why not just get it done without a chainstich? it doesn't really matter.

if you do find someone who will chainstich later on, they should be able to replace the old seam with a chainstich without leaving any evidence behind.

[sybaritical]

I'd quite like to keep the original hem, given the wear it's taken on. I had a project hemmed very late before and it was weird. Ended up with great contrasts, cool whiskers and a deep blue flat hem that just didn't look right at all.

[denimdestroyedmylife]

Do a search!

tee-hee!

That's called "california hem" or "original hem" (original, huh?)--------there's a thread in which someone had their jeans "frankenhemmed" but it looked off. I would advise against it.

I will look for the thread later....

[sybaritical]

Awwwh, I did search but there was a lot of dead links and I couldn't see any frankenhem pics. That's what I was looking for TBH.

[denimdestroyedmylife]

Oh, I found it------it was an off-topic comment in some random thread:

Originally Posted by Milton Keynes

I just got a pair of dry selvedge jeans hemmed... and the retard sales assistant for some inexplicable reason wrote "original hem" on the ticket so that the tailor cut off and reattached the existing hem, basically leaving a horrific mess on the inside. When I complained and sent them back to be "fixed", I got them back yesterday a) slightly too short and more or less completely butchered. Now I've got to go back yet again and persuade them to give me a new pair or my $340 back, which I can see being difficult...

No pics, but I thought the account was very vivid.

[horriblyjollyjinx]

I'd quite like to keep the original hem, given the wear it's taken on. I had a project hemmed very late before and it was weird. Ended up with great contrasts, cool whiskers and a deep blue flat hem that just didn't look right at all.

alright, I was thinking more about new jeans. a regular seam will also give you the crumpled look after some wear. not exactly the same as with chainstitching, but no big difference.

[denimdestroyedmylife]

If you take HJJ's advice, specify cotton thread (not a poly/cotton blend) so that you will get the lovely roping effect after the wash.

[pacioli]

I had my predistressed nudies hemmed that way. It's also called a eurohem. I'll post pics when I get home if nobody else does.

[mizanation]

there is a way to make a pucker stitch, but i've never seen someone do it with jeans. it's usually done with light fabrics.

if someone could do a pucker stich with a chainstitch and then sand lightly, you would have a perfectly natural hem.

you can get puckering by increasing the needle thread tension, but with a heavy fabric like denim, you might break the thread.

[digital_denim]

I would advise against it. It doesn't look right. It tends to not fall naturally. I would just cut it off. And if you ever do fold it over, you'll see this horrible franken-stitching underneath.

[denimdestroyedmylife]

just cut em and leave them unfinished-----fray fray fray.

[ang_kangkong]

Oooh, first post:

I had my jeans "original hemmed" and this time it looks pretty bad. The fella that did it didn't really care, I think. I've had others done up, and I couldn't even tell from the outside. Of course, if you flip it, you see the seams, but I don't flip.

Oh, and for those interested, the 45rpm does chainstitching, but they use an orange thread. Or they did last time I was there.

[denimdestroyedmylife]

Let me be the first to welcome you.

Welcome!

uh... how do frankenhems look after a few washings? i imagine they just get uglier...

[tweeds]

actually instead of frankenhemming, why not just cut and hem normally? even without a chainstitch machine, a regular hem looks very decent. better than the "original hem" and goodness knows what else...

[cheapmuthafukr]

i was thinking i may do a zig-zag stitch on the next jeans i hem, just to do something different.

[sybaritical]

Yeah, frankenhemming sounds rotten. Think I'll go for a regular hem, just choose my tailor carefully and get them to try and pucker it slightly.

It's a drag though, cause last year one of the guys at Cinch told me they'd got a chainstitch machine stashed but they were reluctant to use it cos of the noise.

[tweeds]

i was thinking i may do a zig-zag stitch on the next jeans i hem, just to do something different.

haha you give new meaning to "an earnest cut and sew"

[denimdestroyedmylife]

It's a drag though, cause last year one of the guys at Cinch told me they'd got a chainstitch machine stashed but they were reluctant to use it cos of the noise.

maybe buy them earplugs? jittery folk, eh?

[snugglepony]

nice new avatar, ddml

on topic: i had one pair of jeans done up where they kept the original hem... i don't know what kinda wack tailors you guys are going to, but the hem looked pretty great both inside and out. i don't have the jeans anymore so i can't post pics, but i think if done right, keeping the original hem (especially on a pair of washed/distressed jeans) can look great. i think denim doctors in LA likes to think they invented the process, so i'm sure original hem jobs done there look pretty good...

[headtowall]

If I were getting my jeans hemmed, I would use chainstitch based on DDML's signature alone.

[tangerine]

I've seen some "original hem" jobs where the seam was virtually invisible; you would have to be really looking for it to see it. I've also seen Tara Reid jobs.

Agree with hjj and others, a "regular" hem is really not bad.

Of course, I would prefer chainstitch, but I doubt I would pay shipping to NY to get it.

[Westbrook]

Has anyone in Chicago had a decent hem job done, chainstitch or otherwise? Any place in particular?

[poly800rock]

has anyone have any experience with those toy chainstitch machines on ebay?

[mizanation]

those are regular chainstitch for little kids to learn on. a 5-year old could pull it apart.

[pacioli]

This is not for the faint of heart.

Ladies and Gents, I present to you the Frankenhem

Yes they're crooked. No I don't recommend it. Yes I think there are other tailors who can do a better job on an original hem.

These were done by Ramon in NYC. While he did a good job on my raw denim blazer style jacket (Ramon Senior did it personally), his team did a horrible job on my Nudie Regular Ralphs.

[tweeds]

they're actually not that bad on the outside...but god, the insides make me ill.

[thelion1856]

im sorry that looks like shit. If that is a picture of what chainstiching is then it looks like amature shit. fuck "chainstiching" (still dont know what the hell it even is but thanks 2 those pics i think it looks like shit anyways)

I would recomend u take your jeans to a good tailor and tell them u want your shit hemmed but to have the original hem to make them look exactly the same but shorter. U people on here try to get too fancy and it turns out looking like shit.

[digital_denim]

umm...that's not chainstitching duh. That's franken stitching. Shouldn't fuck what you're not sure of!

[tweeds]

chainstitching is just the stitch job carried out after you have hemmed your jeans. that thick threadwork at your hems (if you have chainstitched hems) is the feature of chainstitching. the photos show an "original hem" (also known as california hem i believe) done poorly. the two have nothing to do with each other, and if your good tailor happens to have a chainstitching machine then you can "make them look exactly the same but shorter". if not, you will be in the same boat as us. either way you should get an idea before mouthing off...